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Safety Guidelines
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a wireless phone causes brain tumors or
other ill effects. Their recommendation to
limit wireless phone use by children was
strictly precautionary; it was not based on
scientific evidence that any health hazard
exists.
11. What about wireless phone
interference with medical equipment?
Radio frequency energy (RF) from wireless
phones can interact with some electronic
devices. For this reason, the FDA helped
develop a detailed test method to measure
electromagnetic interference (EMI) of
implanted cardiac pacemakers and
defibrillators from wireless telephones.
This test method is now part of a standard
sponsored by the Association for the
Advancement of Medical instrumentation
(AAMI). The final draft, a joint effort by
the FDA, medical device manufacturers,
and many other groups, was completed
in late 2000. This standard will allow
manufacturers to ensure that cardiac
pacemakers and defibrillators are safe
from wireless phone EMI. The FDA has
tested hearing aids for interference
from handheld wireless phones and
helped develop a voluntary standard
sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers (IEEE). This standard
specifies test methods and performance
requirements for hearing aids and wireless
phones so that no interference occurs
when a person uses a ‘compatible’ phone
and a ‘compatible’ hearing aid at the same
time. This standard was approved by the
IEEE in 2000. The FDA continues to monitor
the use of wireless phones for possible
interactions with other medical devices.
Should harmful interference be found
to occur, the FDA will conduct testing
to assess the interference and work to
resolve the problem.